No other holiday is savored by gastronomes quite like Thanksgiving. It is a glorious day of feasting, sometimes to excess. It’s also a family affair, where family—and friends who are welcomed as family—travel sometimes many miles to gather, express their gratitude, and enjoy a meal prepared by loving hands. It is common for families to have certain dishes that appear every year on their Thanksgiving dinner tables. This month, our staff—aka our Kentucky Monthly family members—share their favorite family recipes.
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
8 ounces canned pumpkin purée
½ cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
Cooking spray
Frosting (recipe below)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin purée, oil and eggs. Stir in sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well combined.
3. Lightly coat a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray and pour in pumpkin mixture.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting. To serve, cut into squares. Store leftover pumpkin squares in refrigerator.
Frosting
½ cup margarine
3 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ cups powdered sugar (increase or decrease amount to achieve desired spreading consistency)
4 ounces (1/3 bag) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons margarine
1. With a hand-held mixer, beat together ½ cup margarine, cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Frost cooled pumpkin cake without removing it from pan.
2. Melt chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons margarine and stir to combine well. Drizzle chocolate over top of frosting.